Content created in partnership with Shark 

With so many hair styling options out there, it can be overwhelming to know what’s right for you. I have used a range of different blow dry brushes from big brands over the years, but I’m still not convinced I’ve found my ‘go-to’. 

I have long, very thick hair somewhere between a curl and a wave. Living in Auckland humidity, frizz is my nemesis - I’m always trying to smooth my hair, but I’m cautious that heat damage only worsens the problem.

I hadn’t tried anything from Shark before, but I liked the look of the Shark SmoothStyle Heated Comb Straightener + Smoother - the simplicity of having one tool that does the job, wet or dry. I’m no hair stylist, nor am I someone with hours to get ready for work in the morning, so before I invested ($199.99), I had to answer some questions…

How fast can the tool dry my thick hair, fresh from a wash? Can it give me Sabrina Carpenter-level volume? Can it really do it all without heat damage? And is it worth the money? I’m putting the Shark SmoothStyle Heated Comb Straightener + Smoother through its paces for a work week to see what it can do. 

Day one: Wash day

It usually takes a good hour just to blow-dry my hair - which feels like a chore, but I know the more thorough I am, the better the results last. Shark recommends starting with 70% dry hair, so I gently towel-dried my hair before detangling it and letting it air-dry for about 20 minutes while I made some lunch

Next, I sectioned my hair and got to grips with the tool. First impressions: Although it’s not heavy, the oval-shaped brush is wide - larger than I expected in my hand. There is a major benefit to its size though: I can fit a lot more hair in each section. To feel it dry and style so much hair as I rotated the brush through was immensely satisfying. I played around with the different temperatures on the ‘wet hair’ mode (there’s three) and found the middle setting completely dried and smoothed my hair in about four passes. 

I liked the secure grip of the brush, it almost mimics the strong arm of a pro hairdresser who knows what they’re doing with a round brush and blowdryer. The integrated comb also helped shape my hair at the ends into a uniform bend. It took me 25 minutes from start to finish, my roast veges weren’t even done cooking!

Day two: 70s waves

My hair felt surprisingly bouncy when I woke up, so I embraced it with a 70s-inspired style. I switched the Shark SmoothStyle Heated Comb Straightener + Smoother on to the ‘dry hair’ mode - this heats up the comb, without airflow. 

Thanks to the brush (a combo of nylon and boar bristles) and integrated comb, I only need to go over each section once, rotating the ends away from my face to get a soft bend. The oval shape is really key to get that nice ‘S’ wave, which I can never achieve with other blow dry brushes. The result was so shiny, I skipped the hair serum today.

Day three: 90s blow-out

I recently rewatched Clueless and wanted to attempt Cher’s iconic 90s blowout this morning. Using the dry hair mode, I brushed away my centre parting, taking a generous front section with the brush behind at the roots. Lifting this section up, I rotated the brush under at the ends to maximise volume but straighten out my waves, repeating on the rest of my hair. It took five minutes - and my hair felt noticeably softer than if I’d used a straightener. Again, no product needed - the bristles do a great job at smoothing frizz. 

Day four: Quick refresh 

After a run this morning, I came home rather sweaty with hat hair, frizzy ends, and a kink from my ponytail. In a rush, I used dry shampoo at the roots, then ran the Shark SmoothStyle Heated Comb Straightener + Smoother through my hair in large sections, which removed the kink easily and refreshed the soft wave in my ends. Normally my hair would feel a bit dry by now, but because the comb works at a low temperature, my hair is absorbing less heat and it feels a lot better for it!

The verdict: 

Overall I was really impressed by the Shark SmoothStyle Heated Comb Straightener + Smoother. Compared to similar tools on the market, the value for money is unreal. Hair health is very important to me, so I loved that my hair felt silky even after four days of heat styling. Thanks to the smoothing brush, I also barely used any hair product, so I could go longer between washes too. The biggest game-changer for me was definitely the time it saves on wash day - if you have thick hair, you will absolutely love this.

The Shark SmoothStyle Heated Comb Straightener + Smoother is available now in New Zealand to purchase from leading retailers including Noel Leeming, Harvey Norman, Sephora and sharkclean.co.nz at an RRP of $199.99